The Thirty Thousand Islands

The eastern shore of Georgian Bay is scattered with something in the order of thirty thousand islands, the largest freshwater archipelago on earth, most of them bare humps of pink and grey granite carrying a handful of pines bent flat by the prevailing wind. That image, the leaning pine on bare rock over open water, became one of the defining subjects of Canadian painting through Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. Georgian Bay Islands National Park protects a scatter of them, reachable by a small park boat. Beausoleil is the largest, with trails crossing from Canadian Shield rock to hardwood forest. The massasauga rattlesnake, Ontario's only venomous snake, lives here.

What you actually see

• The granite and pines - the archetypal Group of Seven landscape.
• Beausoleil Island - trails from bare shield rock into hardwood forest.
• A boat cruise from Parry Sound - threading the channels among the islands.
• Killbear Provincial Park - the mainland shore with the same rock and pines.

When to go

June to October, with the water warm enough to swim from mid-July and autumn colour in early October. Boat access to the national park islands runs a seasonal schedule. Georgian Bay can turn very rough very quickly, so small-boat travel depends on the forecast.

Honest expectations

Without a boat you see the mainland edge and little else, and the park's own shuttle runs a limited seasonal schedule to a few islands. Georgian Bay is notorious for sudden squalls that catch out small craft. The massasauga is shy and bites are very rare, but it is present and worth knowing about. Cottage traffic clogs the highway north on summer Fridays.

Nearby

Parry Sound and Killbear are on the mainland; Algonquin is two hours east.